


Sliding Along the Ice

by evelinaonline



Series: TUA Holiday Fics [6]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Diego somehow knows how to ice skate, Dysfunctional Family, Family Bonding, Gen, Good Sister Vanya Hargreeves, No Apocalypse, No Incest, Post-Apocalypse, and so does Allison, and so does Five, good brother Five hargreeves, no beta we die like ben
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:07:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24456430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evelinaonline/pseuds/evelinaonline
Summary: Ice skating with the Hargreeves. What could possibly go wrong?
Relationships: Allison Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Vanya Hargreeves, Vanya Hargreeves & Everyone
Series: TUA Holiday Fics [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589056
Comments: 20
Kudos: 176





	Sliding Along the Ice

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a request by 1siolz on tumblr: "the siblings are ice skating together but vanya is too afraid to skate + doesn’t know how, so five being the best big brother ever teaches her."
> 
> This is rushed and kinda wobbly but I needed to write some fluff, so!! Hope you enjoy <3

" _One is like sliding along the ice, the other is akin to descending blindly into the depths of the freezing water and reappearing as an acorn."  
_— _Reginald Hargreeves_

* * *

Vanya Hargreeves didn't belong on the ice.

She'd always loved the idea of sliding along it on a cold winter day, feeling the wind brush the hair out of her face, maybe even spinning around to swiftly change directions… but that only ever happened in Christmas movies she couldn't really be bothered to watch.

So of course, when Allison suggested they all go ice skating together, Vanya said yes.

The frozen pond by the park was only a fifteen-minute walk away from the Academy. They waited till dark, so they'd have it all for themselves, free of kids and their families. It wasn't that big of a pond, but it was more than enough for the seven of them.

Well. Six of them. That was, if Vanya managed to stay out of it.

It wasn't that she was ashamed of her inability to skate. She doubted any of her siblings knew what they were doing, except maybe for Allison, who was also nowhere near a professional skater. Vanya simply didn't want to spend the rest of the week in bed after breaking all the bones in her body, which was, in her understanding, a very likely turn of events.

"Alright everyone, shoes off!" Allison said and started to hand everyone their ice skates. Vanya shivered at the thought of how much seven pairs of shoes must have cost, but reminded herself that Allison _wanted_ this, and managed to relaxed, even if it was just a bit.

Klaus was the first to take his shoes off, throwing them somewhere across the park—they'd probably never see them again—and Diego held him back from stepping into the snow with only his socks on. "Ben's worried that if he's still wearing skates when he turns incorporeal, he'll be stuck with them forever."

Vanya pressed her lips together, trying to suppress a grin. It was good to know she wasn't the only one having second thoughts.

"He'll just have to skate home then," Diego said, securing his ice skates on.

There was silence for a few seconds, and then Klaus grinned. "He says he'll tear the blades off and give them to you—no, wait—stab you with them."

They kept bickering with each other until everyone—even Ben, who had been now manifested by Klaus—had their skates on. Ever since they'd stopped the apocalypse, Vanya found herself more and more at ease with her siblings as background noise. It was familiar; safe. It helped her stay in control.

"Right then, uh," Luther said, and stood up. "What's the plan?"

"The plan…" Diego mumbled under his breath mockingly. _It's not a mission, Luther,_ Vanya could almost hear him say. In a matter of seconds, he was on the ice, sliding away. "Just try not to break the ice, big guy!"

Klaus and Ben were the next ones on the ice—and the first ones to fall down. Vanya flinched at the sound of bodies falling on the hard ground. She could almost _feel_ it. The two of them seemed unphased though, and simply laughed it off before getting up.

"They're going to get themselves killed," Allison mumbled, and it took a moment for Vanya to register that she was talking to her. "Diego talked them through the basics before, but…"

Vanya huffed through a smile, nodding. "Diego knows how to skate?"

Allison nodded. "And he wouldn't tell me where from."

"Of course he wouldn't."

Their gazes locked, and for a moment, Vanya forgot what she'd been so afraid of. Allison had her back, as always. She was going to help her, and then—

"I think I'm gonna go help Luther," Allison said. It was then that Vanya noticed Luther tiptoeing on the ice, clearly having the worst time of his life. "Before he hydraulic presses the others."

Allison gave Vanya and encouraging squeeze on her shoulder, and then she was off.

Well. At least no one could force her on the ice now.

Vanya made herself comfortable on the bench, observing her siblings. Ben and Klaus were in the middle of performing some sort of musical act—was Klaus singing _Time of my Life?_ Klaus _was_ singing _Time of my Life_ —while Diego span around them in disapproval, trying to stop them from breaking their faces. On the other side of the pond, Luther was holding on Allison for dear life, yet somehow she managed to remain on her feet. Finally, Five was—

"You don't know how to skate, do you?"

Vanya jumped at the voice next to her, pulling her arms into her body to protect herself, but then her eyes fell on its source and—

"Jesus," she hissed.

"Not quite," Five said.

Vanya glared at him.

She hated how, even after all these months, she still wasn't used to Five's presence.

It was different with Ben. He'd died, and even though Vanya didn't get to see it, that was it. He was gone, never to come back, and she knew it, they all knew it. But when Five walked out that morning in the academy, Vanya had been there for it, and she'd been there every day after that when he didn't come back too.

Until one day, he did.

Vanya tried to look away, to go back to looking back at the rest of her family as they slid along the pond, but she couldn't.

And Five was looking right back at her.

"I can teach you," he said, hesitantly. Vanya wasn't used to hearing him speak in anything that wasn't sincere confidence, but she didn't comment on it.

"Okay," she said, and wondered what Five thought of her tone.

They walked to the pond—walking in ice skates was surprisingly very easy—and Five was the first to go in. Then, Vanya followed.

Stepping on the ice felt like tiptoeing.

Sliding on it felt like falling.

Because Vanya _did_ fall.

"You okay?" Five asked, looking down on her. As if Vanya wasn't short enough already.

"Ouch?" Vanya said, managing a huff of amusement out of Five. It hadn't really hurt; she'd fallen on her side, and cut off her fall with her forearm, so she'd ended up sprawled across the ice. She took a few seconds to recollect herself before placing her fingers on the pond to push herself—

"Hands off the ice," Five said.

"Why?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you're really keen on the idea of Klaus' blades cutting them off your hand—"

"Okay, okay!" Vanya said, and did as she was told. Five talked her through getting up—stand on her knees, put one leg up, and push herself up—before taking her hands in his. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure you skate at least three meters before inevitably falling down again."

Vanya rolled her eyes, but didn't object. She followed Five's lead—how he could ice skate backwards, she honestly didn't know—and actually managed to stay on her feet for more than ten seconds this time.

She lost her balance again, but Five managed to support her weight. "You need to push your right foot to the side, not behind," he said. "And keep your knees slightly more bent—no, that's too much—there."

Vanya estimated they'd gone around the pond at least three times, but it still felt too soon when Five let go of her hands. "Five, no—"

"Don't lean so forward," Five told her, putting more distancing between them. "You're supposed to be pushing yourself away, not pulling towards me."

Vanya swallowed and nodded. She tried not to focus on the impact that was to come, but rather on the girl she became in her fantasies, the one that danced with the ice and with the air, and—

"Woo! Go, Vanya!" Allison cheered from somewhere, and Vanya couldn't help the grin that spread on her face.

"I'm doing it!" she said, her voice filling with laughter.

Vanya's movements were wobbly, but smooth enough, she decided, as she gave the ice another push. The lanterns shined down on her as she moved, and it really did seem like a cheesy Christmas movie.

"Shift your weight!"

"What?" Vanya yelled back at Five, turning around to look at him, only to lose her balance and fall on the ice again.

It didn't hurt as much as the first time. In fact, it didn't hurt at all.

Because she loved it.

A moment later, Five was gliding next to her. Vanya looked up at him, much like before, and he held out his hand. "Am I learning how to spin next?"

Five rolled his eyes as she took his hand. "Is that a risk you're willing to take?"

"I'll teach you!" Klaus said, sloppily catching up to them, followed by Ben. "I already taught Ben!"

"No, you didn't," Ben said.

Klaus pouted. "I lifted you up."

" _Diego_ lifted _you_ up," Ben corrected.

So they _were_ trying to recreate the scene from _Dirty Dancing_.

"Yeah, barely," Diego said. "Next time, I'd rather pick Luther up."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Luther said without missing a beat. "I'm doing just fine on my own."

"You are, actually," Allison said, shooting him a smile, and then one at Vanya. "You okay?"

Vanya, now standing up again, nodded. "I'll live."

They all spread out after that, and Vanya was left alone with Five, underneath a lantern. She was still holding his hand, but it was more of a reminder that he was there, rather than to balance herself.

"How did you even learn how to skate?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"You'd be surprised what skills you pick up as a field agent," Five simply said, giving her hand one final squeeze, and skating away.

Vanya's gaze followed him for a few seconds, then fell upon the rest of her siblings. Much like before, they were all up to something silly. It was almost childish. Then again, they were only bound to do childish things, after missing out on the entirety of their childhood.

Vanya never imagined they'd get to experience this.

She didn't really care about the ice skating anymore. Since the very start, she'd been right; she didn't belong on the ice.

"Don't you wanna learn how to spin?" Five yelled from afar, and Vanya couldn't help but laugh.

She belonged with her family.

**Author's Note:**

> Season 2 is *looks at calendar* 62 days away, and if we don't get some Vanya Hargreeves appreciation, I can and will riot. (But in all seriousness, I'm really excited!)
> 
> You can [find me on tumblr (evelinaonline)](https://evelinaonline.tumblr.com/), if you want to check out more of my work, or to simply talk about TUA!


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